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| photo by Andy Stewart |
Holly Shaw - Producer/Dancer/Choreographer
Since moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2001, Shaw has danced with two different dance companies
in the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, performed for the San Francisco Opera, danced in Yaelisa's premiere of the critically acclaimed "Sol Viento," at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, starred as a guest
artist in "Flamenco Forever" at L.A.'s Fountain Theatre, and debuted many solos at Cafe Flamenco in ODC Theatre. Widely known for her skills
as a transformative dancer of different styles, she crafted choreographies for Shuvani, a company which presented dances
of the Romani "Gypsy" trail from India, Egypt, Turkey, Russia and Spain, as well as recently presenting a contemporary dance choreography to Tim Rayborn's folkloric ballet,
The Flame and the Shadow. Shaw made her start dancing with The Indianapolis Children's Dance League at a young age and honed her acting skills in school and community theatre performances. Delving briefly into the world of
film acting as a teenager, she then went on to graduate cum laude with a B.A. in English from the University of
Indianapolis. After studying modern dance from the prestigious Jordan College of Fine Arts, Shaw travelled and performed her way through Egypt, Israel and all over Europe where she danced in the Edinburgh Arts Festival and was selected as a host for the televised Festival Revue in Princess Gardens. Her ethnographic interests have led
her to Bali, Indonesia, where she studied the balinese ceremonial dances, oleg tambulilingan and the baris warrior dance,
and to India in 2006, where she studied sapera dance with the Kalbeliya "Gypsies" of Rajasthan. A generous
and rhythmically astute teacher, Shaw has taught several different styles of dance including belly-dance, American tap, and
flamenco to both children and adults for the last six years as part of ongoing local classes as well as presenting specialized workshops
as a guest artist nationwide.
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| Mira Betz - photo by John Gatta |
Mira Betz - Dancer/Choreographer
The multi-faceted career of Mira Betz is a testament to her passionate
artistry and desire for continual growth. Active in theater, dance and the performing arts for 20 years, Mira Betz has become
a sought after dancer, choreographer, costumer, and teacher. Nominated "Instructor of the year" by Zaghareet Magazine,
Mira is a valued instuctor at prestigious festivals and camps across the nation, as well as at the Malonga Arts Collective in Oakland California. Mira is currently facilitating the Barbary Coast Shakedown, a collaboration of Middle Eastern dance professionals pairing performance with intensive dance instruction.
Mira began her training in Middle Eastern dance as a young teen studying
with some of the most respected and knowledgeable teachers of our time, such as Katarina Burda, Jamila Salimpour, and Suhaila
Salimpour. As a founding member, choreographer, and solo performer of Aywah! Ethnic Dance Company for 10 years, she developed a solid foundation of contemporary, traditional, as well as ritualistic dance forms. Aywah!,
under the direction of Katarina Burda, flourished to become one of the San Francisco Bay Area's most respected ethnic
dance companies. In 1998 Mira went abroad to live and study the native dances of Morocco.
In spring 2006 she was a guest choreographer for Jill Parker and her company Ultra Gypsy. In 2004-2005 Mira toured nationally with renowned drummer Tobias Roberson and was the artistic director of the ECHOS Project;
a collaboration of choreographers in the San Francisco Bay Area supporting the exploration of traditional and experimental
music and dance fusion. Mira was a featured dancer at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire from1994-2002. She has performed on such
infamous stages as the Fillmore in San Francisco, the Hollywood Bowl in LA, Humphrey's in San Diego, the Knitting Factory
in NYC and night clubs and restaurants across the US. She has had the pleasure of working with incredible talent such as David
Byrne, Rachel Brice, Jill Parker, Zoe Jakes, Elizabeth Strong, Heather Stants, Amy Sigil and many more. Mira Betz received
her B.F.A. from the California College of Arts and Crafts. Her dance background includes training in Salsa, Modern, Jazz,
and Flamenco.
Mira continues to spread her experience, knowledge and love for dance through her captivating performance
and engaging teaching style.
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| Hannah Romanowsky - photo by Godfrey Silas |
Hannah Romanowsky - Dancer/Choreographer
As a seasoned performer on the proscenium stage, Hannah Romanowsky draws
her aesthetic impulse from many years of study in both Eastern and Western classical dance; and she has enraptured audiences
with her wide range of expertise rooted in the enchanting forms of North Africa, the Near East and Central Asia.
Hannah has been featured in San Francisco’s Ethnic Dance Festival and has performed at the Asian Art Museum , Legion of Honor, San Francisco City
Hall, Fairmont Hotel, Robert Mondavi
Winery, and for the Oakland Ballet, as well as at international cultural festivals in China and India.
Hannah holds a degree in Dance Ethnology and World Music from San Francisco State University. She teaches at the ODC Dance Commons in San Francisco and is the founder and director of the educational youth program Danceversity.
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| Katy Alaniz Barnhill - photo by Michael Nagle |
Katy Alaniz Barnhill - Guest Dancer/Choreographer
Katy Barnhill started dancing ballet at age three,
then started samba at age five. Over the last two decades of Katy's dance career she has studied over 20 forms of cultural
dance in addition to ballet, modern, tap, jazz, and hip-hop. At 7 she was awarded a scholarship to the San Francisco Ballet
School and continued to study latin dance in her community. She attended high schools of the arts in San Francisco and Los
Angeles and expanded her study of cultural dance with Chitresh Das (Kathak of India), Michelle Martin (Afro-Haitian), Vladimir
Riasantsev (Russian Character), El Farruquito (Flamenco), and Juana Amaya (Flamenco). Katy received a Dance scholarship to
UCLA's World Arts and Cultures program. Katy left UCLA for a year to attended S.F. State's Ethnodansology department
to be exposed to different forms of cultural dance. She has danced with Deli Ritmo Flamenco Company, Mora Reyna, Ballet Afsaneh,
Nai-Ni Chen, Axe Brazilian Dance Company, Mara Reggae, Neva Russian Dance Ensemble, the Movement Company, and Mirwa Sacre,
the first Haitian Vodou tour in the US. Katy now travels the globe enriching her practice of cultural dance and teaching
World Dance Fusion choreography that integrates her years of study. |
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